Seventh Circuit
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Gay, Gay Marriage, Richard Posner
Judge Richard Posner On Homosexuality: 'Incredibly Weird'
Judge Posner's views on gays and gay marriage have evolved greatly since he was 13 years old -- and so have the American people's. -
7th Circuit, Benchslaps
Judge Posner Drops Truth Bombs Like It Ain't No Thang
Judge Richard Posner is the Republican-appointed judge we need on the Supreme Court. He may not be the one we deserve, and will almost certainly not be the one we get, but it is fun to imagine. - Sponsored
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.25.15
* Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit completely obliterated a Wisconsin law that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Posner said any health benefits conferred by the law were “nonexistent.” [Reuters]
* Judge Richard Sullivan (S.D.N.Y.) wasn’t a fan of the Bank of China essentially telling Gucci to “suck it up” when it came to “ridiculous” delays in providing counterfeiters’ records, so he held the bank in contempt and is considering assessing millions of dollars in fines. [WSJ Law Blog]
* A Pennsylvania attorney activist who launched the “Kane is not Able” campaign has asked the state’s highest court to provide clarification on how AG Kathleen Kane should delegate her duties considering the fact she has a suspended law license. [PennLive.com]
* A proposed class-action suit has been filed against fashion company Kate Spade over its alleged “imaginary discount prices.” If this goes the way of the $4.88M Michael Kors settlement over the same issue, then Kate Spade could be in trouble. [Consumerist]
* “Talk about being uprooted!” Vendors who sell wares outside of Brooklyn Law are pissed about the school’s plans to install planters on the sidewalks around the building, thereby kicking the vendors not to the curb, but out onto the street. [Brooklyn Paper]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.25.15
* Why are so many law grads failing the bar exam? Law profs, a law dean, and a Biglaw recruiting specialist all have answers to this question… and only some of them come close to being satisfactory. [Room for Debate / New York Times]
* Jurors in the Dewey & LeBoeuf trial have deliberated for five days thus far, and seem to be no closer to coming to a verdict than when they first started. They’re quibbling over thesaurus entries for the word “fake” (i.e., “fake income”). [Am Law Daily]
* Thanks to the OnRamp Fellowship, more women lawyers are making a reentry into the legal profession through Biglaw firms than ever before. Participating firms now include Skadden Arps and MoFo, amongst others. Congrats! [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Law school enrollment may be stagnant across the country, but at Colorado Law, it’s booming. The size of the school’s incoming class is 22 percent larger than last year’s was. What can we say other than students were sTOKEd to get in. [Boulder Daily Camera]
* If you’re ever fired from your job, charged with insider trading, and the SEC wants access to your work phone, take heart in the fact that your personal passcode is just that — personal. The SEC can’t treat it as a business record thanks to this ruling. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Richard Cudahy Sr., longtime Seventh Circuit judge, RIP. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.26.15
* Melvin Feliz, husband of Keila Ravelo, the partner who allegedly bilked Hunton & Williams and Willkie Farr out of millions to lead a life of luxury, pleaded guilty in the fraud case brought against him. Is she a prospective Real Housewife of Cellblock D? [Bergen Record]
* Sorry, Southwest passengers, but the Seventh Circuit says you’re stuck with your free drink vouchers, and the lawyers who represented you in this class-action suit are stuck with their $1.65 million. No one is happy up in the unfriendly skies. [Associated Press]
* China’s economy may be on the brink, but that doesn’t matter to Dentons. The firm is as happy as ever about its proposed merger with Dacheng because it really wants a horde of lawyers, so it’s gonna get one. It’s “almost absurd” to think otherwise. [Am Law Daily]
* As we mentioned yesterday, lawyers work too damn much — so much, in fact, that they’re quitting their Biglaw jobs, starting competitor practices, and poaching talent from top firms by offering them a sense of work-life balance. [Harvard Business Review]
* Kevin Fagan, perhaps better known as Juror 83 in the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial, is speaking to the media about his experience, and says he might’ve changed his death penalty vote if he had known the youngest victim’s parents opposed it. [WSJ Law Blog]
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7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges
Benchslaps Fly Over Judges Doing Factual Research On The Internet
The benchslaps are fun, but the debate is real and important. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.07.15
* Graffiti artist Rime alleges that Katy Perry wore a dress designed by Moschino that ripped off some of his copyrightable work. This dark horse has injected herself into a lot of IP issues this year. Your lawyer fans thank you. [WSJ Law Blog]
* The Seventh Circuit is totally sorry about the case that it completely forgot about for the past five years. It seems that the court pleadings were “placed in the wrong stack” on remand from the Supreme Court in 2010. Congratulations, America: This is your justice system. Oopsie! [ABA Journal]
* Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been charged with perjury, conspiracy, obstructing justice, and several other crimes in connection with a grand jury leak. She’s the second state AG to be criminally charged this week. Nice job. [USA Today]
* Arizona Summit Law filed a motion to dismiss former employee and alumnus Paula Lorona’s pro se retaliation and consumer fraud lawsuit with prejudice. The school claims the complaint is pleaded deficiently. Well… you educated her. [National Law Journal]
* Rapper Busta Rhymes was charged with second degree assault this week after he allegedly threw a protein drink at a gym employee. His lawyer calls the charge “a bunch of bull.” Hmm, we apparently should’ve listened when he told us he was dangerous. [MTV]
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Law Schools, Money
Florida Coastal Law School Knows How To Play Hard Ball
The Seventh Circuit affirms: $260,000 in educational debt for a law school grad can't be discharged in bankruptcy. - Sponsored
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Benchslaps, Richard Posner, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Judge Posner Defends His Benchslap Of Chief Justice Roberts
Judge Posner's harsh critique of the Supreme Court raised eyebrows; what does His Honor have to say for himself? -
7th Circuit, Federal Judges
Judge Posner: Lawyers Still Suck At Their Jobs
Judge Posner looks over the legal landscape and delivers his verdict. -
Federal Judges, Weirdness
The Greatest Concurrence Ever? Maybe....
If brevity is the soul of wit, this one-sentence concurring opinion is very witty. -
Benchslaps, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner
Judge Posner Schools Colleagues On Marriage, Basic Logic
Judge Posner sounds exacerbated by his colleagues in this benchslap from a recent dissent. -
7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Litigators, Richard Posner, Ted Frank
More Benchslaps -- But Mild Ones -- From Judge Richard Posner
Judge Posner channels Mr. Spock: "So [your client] is not logical, you're saying."
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3rd Circuit, 7th Circuit, Biglaw, Books, Deaths, Gay, Gay Marriage, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Partner Issues
Morning Docket: 09.05.14
* A unanimous Seventh Circuit panel, in an opinion by Judge Posner, just struck down Wisconsin and Indiana’s bans on same-sex marriage. The result isn’t surprising in light of the blistering benchslaps delivered by Judge Posner at oral argument, but the timing is faster than usual (for a federal appellate opinion in a high-profile case, not for the prolific Posner). [BuzzFeed]
* Bad news for Cahill Gordon: the Third Circuit just revived a fraud case against the high-powered firm and one of its clients, a unit of BASF. [WSJ Law Blog]
* And badder news for BP: a federal judge just concluded that the oil giant was grossly negligent in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [New York Times]
* Freshfields gets fresh talent, adding former Wachtell partner Mitchell Presser and former Skadden partner James Douglas to its ranks. [American Lawyer]
* The dean of Seton Hall Law, Patrick Hobbs, will step down from the deanship at the end of the current academic year. Congratulations to Dean Hobbs on a long and successful tenure. [South Orange Juice]
* And congratulations to John Grisham and Jason Bailey, winners of, respectively, the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and the 2014 ABA Journal/Ross Short Fiction Contest. [ABA Journal]
* Brittany McGrath, Brooklyn Law class of 2014, RIP. [TaxProf Blog]
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7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Gay, Gay Marriage, Richard Posner
Judge Posner's Blistering Benchslaps At The Same-Sex Marriage Arguments
Judge Posner didn't go easy on lawyers trying to defend the Indiana and Wisconsin bans on same-sex marriage. -
7th Circuit, Andrew Cuomo, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Blogging, Erwin Chemerinsky, Fast Food, Gay, Gay Marriage, In-House Counsel, Law Professors, Mergers and Acquisitions, Morning Docket, New York Times, Police, Politics, Richard Posner, SCOTUS, Sports, Supreme Court, Tim Wu
Morning Docket: 08.27.14
* Judge Posner dished out a whole lot of benchslaps at yesterday’s Seventh Circuit arguments over Indiana and Wisconsin’s bans on same-sex marriage. [BuzzFeed]
* Major U.S. and Canadian law firms chow down on Burger King’s whopper of a deal with Tim Hortons. [Am Law Daily]
* A recent Delaware court ruling on attorney-client privilege might allow in-house lawyers to speak more freely about wrongdoing at their companies, according to Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon. [DealBook / New York Times]
* The corruption trial of former Virginia governor continues; yesterday Bob McDonnell’s sister took the stand. [Washington Post]
* A favorable evidentiary ruling for Aaron Hernandez. [Fox Sports]
* And good news for Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu, the two law professors running for governor and lieutenant governor of New York: the Times dissed their opponent, Andrew Cuomo, with a non-endorsement. [New York Times]
* I recently spoke with one of my cousins Joao Atienza of the Cebu Sun Star, about Above the Law and the world of legal blogging. [Cebu Sun Star]
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7th Circuit, Federal Judges, Richard Posner, War on Terror
Someone Really Wants To Shut Up Judge Posner
Opinions get redacted or sealed all the time, but the latest from the Seventh Circuit is a doozy.... -
7th Circuit, Antonin Scalia, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Keker & Van Nest, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Vicious Infighting
Posner Not Pleased, Issues Biting Remarks As Tiff With Scalia Rehashed
You've angered Judge Richard Posner terribly. Not a good idea. -
7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Copyright, Federal Judges, Intellectual Property, Richard Posner, Ridiculousness
Judge Posner Asks, 'Is That A Banana Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?'
Judge Posner levels a benchslap on a litigious piece of fruit. -
7th Circuit, Crime, Department of Justice, Money
Inspector Javert Goes Smurfing In Indiana
You might be charged with a crime if your money smells bad.